ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Dante Fabbro has skated where most of his Canada teammates have never gone before.

As such, the defenceman plans to dispense some advice in the Canadians’ dressing room at New Era Field on Friday.

Not quite a year ago, Fabbro, wearing the sweater of Boston University, played in an outdoor game at Fenway Park and will cherish those memories for the rest of his life.

Cold, chilly memories.

Oh, and the ice — Fabbro has a fairly good idea of what to expect when Canada meets its biggest hockey rival, the United States, on Friday afternoon at the home of the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills.

“It’s cold outside, and there is going to be big chunks of ice coming out,” Fabbro said after Canada practised outdoors on Thursday afternoon. “Simpler the better is definitely the way to go in these games.

“More toward game time, I will tell them as the game goes on, it gets harder. You have to be pretty simple with the puck. A lot of things can happen on the outdoor rink.”

Cale Makar on the New Era Field ice on Dec. 28, 2017 (CP)

For Canada, the game will serve several purposes.

There’s an opportunity to build off a pair of wins to start the 2018 world junior hockey championship, and another victory would be a fine lead-in to Canada’s final game of the preliminary round, against Denmark on Saturday night.

Playing an outdoor game with high stakes will be a first for the majority of Canadians, certainly more than neighbourhood bragging rights resulting from games on backyard rinks or nearby ponds.

And there’s the issue of just wanting to beat the U.S., especially after the Americans’ gold-medal win against Canada in Montreal at the 2017 world junior.

“To have that in the back of your mind, you don’t forget what happened last year and this is a huge game for us,” Canada captain Dillon Dube said.

There are the emotions to overcome as well, and you can bet those will be different than what would be experienced if the game was being played in an arena, even with thousands of screaming Canadian fans.

The International Ice Hockey Federation was expecting a crowd of more than 40,000, a number that will smash the attendance record for a world-junior game. The most to watch a game came in 2009 in Ottawa, when 20,380 fans were packed into what was then called Scotiabank Place, for the gold-medal match between Canada and Sweden.

The scene at New Era Field on Dec. 28, 2017 (CP)

New Era Field mostly was empty on Thursday when Canada arrived for practice, save some stadium workers, players’ family members and those in the media.

Still, the players’ imaginations roamed, and they eagerly were anticipating the game while they were on the ice.

“Walking out there when we first got to the rink (for practice), I got shivers,” Dube said. “I never really had that feeling before where I got excitement and I didn’t really know what to do with myself.

Added defenceman Jake Bean: “It’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Of course, it’s going to be against the Americans, so that makes everything better. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Carter Hart will start in Canada’s net after Colton Point earned a shutout against Slovakia on Wednesday.

Under normal circumstances, Canada would not have practised on Thursday after back-to-back games to start the tournament.

These are not normal circumstances. The forecast calls for temperatures in the range of minus-8 degrees Celsius, with a chance of flurries.

Fabbro can’t wait for his teammates to get a taste of his experience, no matter the oddities that may be part of the game.

“I remember my first shift, I get back (to the bench) and I tried to take a sip of water and the nozzles were all frozen,” Fabbro said. “It was cold. It’s a fun game, (but) it’s a hard game too, though.

“I don’t think there is any strategy to staying warm. (Last season at Fenway), just skating out, there was the crowd, and the bands playing, it’s a moment I won’t forget.

“(The game on Friday) will be a huge moment and a pretty special moment to share with my teammates and family.”

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